Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain
| Gen Relationship | |
|---|---|
| Relationship: | Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain |
| Alternative name(s): | Spoiler & Batgirl II; Spoiler & Black Bat; Batgirl III & Black Bat; Spoiler & Orphan |
| Fandom: | Batman |
| Type: | Best friends |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | Common |
| Archives: | |
| See also: | Batgirl, Barbara Gordon & Cassandra Cain |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain refers to the canon friendship between Stephanie Brown (AKA Spoiler, Robin IV, Batgirl III) and Cassandra Cain (AKA Batgirl II, Black Bat, Orphan) in Batman media.
Background
Post-Crisis
Stephanie "Steph" Brown first appeared as the self-made vigilante known as Spoiler, introduced in Detective Comics Vol 1 647 (1992). Cassandra Cain was introduced Batman #567 (1999) during the No Man's Land storyline, in which she became Barbara Gordon's successor as the second Batgirl.
You'd probably expect Steph to start feeling a little jealous in this scenario—maybe even self-righteous. After all, she was there first. She'd been working off and on with the Bat for years before Cass showed up, and yet Cass was welcomed in with open arms while Steph continued to have to prove herself.
But you'd be wrong. That's not to say Steph didn't have her fair share of moments feeling like she was constantly stuck on the outside looking in, but in a surprising turn of events, she never directed that frustration back at Cass. And Cass, in turn, came to trust Steph's unique perspective on the ins-and-outs of the superhero lifestyle. Cass had never been given the chance to live a normal life, while Steph could never really escape hers. Together, they formed a pretty impeccable team.
Cass began to help Stephanie learn to fight and read body language, while Steph began working with Cass on normal, everyday teenager things—learning how to read (Cass had never been taught language), interact with people on the street, dress when not in uniform and so on.
Years into their friendship, Cassandra hit a point where she was expected to do some things for Bruce's new Batman, Inc. initiative that weren't really suited for the Batgirl identity. She had to move on to something new, but she didn't want to leave Gotham short one of its costumed heroes.
In 2009, a brand-new era of Batgirl started as Cass chose to officially pass the mantle on to Steph, while she left Gotham to go deep undercover.[1]
Post-Flashpoint
In the aftermath of Flashpoint, these two characters were largely sidelined as a result of DC's New 52 2011 continuity reboot and editorial mandates. They began making more appearances after the softer DC Rebirth 2016 reboot restored certain Post-Crisis continuity elements, and have started regaining further prominence circa the 2021 Infinite Frontier relaunch. In 2022 and 2023, they and Barbara Gordon were the central characters of the Batgirls series.
Other media
Fan community
Meta and popularity
Fanon and tropes
Fan works
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Meta
Fan fiction
Fan art
Fan work rec lists and collections
External links
Fan communities and archives
- Archive of Our Own (AO3): Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain
Resources
- "Relationship Roundup: Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain" by Meg Downey (29 May 2018)